Holiday Hero Challenge 2017

My name is Majok Deng, I am writing to you to share my story. It is not just my story, but the story of my mother, Rebecca, who worked tirelessly to provide my brothers and me with a safe home through Habitat Tucson, so we could have every opportunity to succeed in life.

I am a high school basketball player who grew up in South Sudan where there was no basketball, only hunger. We played soccer but that was always interrupted by gunfire.

My mother wanted a better life for us. She, my two brothers and I walked through the African bush for months to reach a refugee camp in Kenya. We had no water or food, but my mother brought us there safely, risking her life many times. She is truly a hero. We lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for six years until the United States approved us to receive asylum right here in Tucson.

My mother’s fearlessness, strength and dedication have made her my hero. But she couldn’t have done it without the help of Habitat donors like you. Because of this, YOU are my hero too. …A Habitat hero.

Now we are American citizens and I’m going to be the first person in my family to go to college. I am using basketball to make my family’s future different than its past.

You have built with Habitat Tucson. Will you take your service one step further and make a gift today?

As a Habitat volunteer, you know firsthand the difference a safe and stable home can make. Individual gifts are critical to building homes, community and hope for families like mine.

Because of the financial support of individuals, Habitat volunteers have the nails, the wood and the foundation to help build successful futures for Tucson families. Everyone, every helping hand, every gift matters.

You make a difference when you build alongside future Habitat families. Will you make a gift to Habitat Tucson this holiday season to help a family like mine write the next chapter of their story? Your gift will be matched by the Dorothy and Bill Harmsen Sr. Charitable Foundation!

My mother applied to the Habitat program, completing her sweat equity hours while working a full-time job, taking financial classes and raising her children. You might have worked alongside her to raise the walls of our home. She purchased our home with an affordable mortgage and this year we will celebrate our first Christmas together in our new home that we built side-by-side with amazing neighbors and volunteers like you.

…But she’s not done yet, she wants to help build the next Habitat Tucson home.

I hope her resolve inspires you to donate to Habitat Tucson today. With your matched gift, Habitat Tucson will:

→ Provide children with a safe home where they will grow, play and learn

→ Help veterans by providing home repairs for those who have served our